UC-NRLF 


*^  ="  "i;,.  JES  ON  TllE 


LUIGI  CORNARO 


1 


DISCOURSES  ON  THE  SOBER  LIFE 

(DISCORSI   BELLA   VITA  SOBRIA) 


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DISCOURSES  ON   THE 
SOBER  LIFE 

(DISCORSI    DELLA   VITA    SOBRIA) 


Being  the  Personal  Narrative  of  Luigi   Cornaro 
(1467-1566,  A.D.) 


NEW  YORK 

THOMAS    Y.    CROWELL   COMPANY 

PUBLISHERS 


^.^  '■  c  •< 


HEALTH 
UBHAHy 


The  most  remarkable  instance  of  the  efficacy  of  temper- 
ance toward  the  procuring  of  long  life,  is  what  we  meet  with 
in  a  little  book  published  by  Luigi  Cornaro,  the  Venetian; 
which  I  the  rather  mention,  because  it  is  of  undoubted 
credit,  as  the  late  Venetian  ambassador,  who  was  of  the 
same  family,  attested  more  than  once  in  conversation,  when 
he  resided  in  England.  Cornaro,  who  was  the  author  of  the 
little  "Treatise"  I  am  mentioning,  was  of  an  infirm  consti- 
tution, till  about  forty,  when,  by  obstinately  persisting  in  an 
exact  course  of  temperance,  he  recovered  a  perfect  state  of 
health;  insomuch  that  at  fourscore  he  published  his  book, 
which  has  been  translated  into  English  under  the  title  "A 
Sure  and  Certain  Method  of  Attaining  a  Long  and  Healthy 
Life."  He  lived  to  give  a  third  or  fourth  edition  of  it;  and, 
after  having  passed  his  hundredth  year,  died  without  pain  or 
agony,  and  like  one  who  falls  asleep.  The  "Treatise"  I  men- 
tion haa  been  taken  notice  of  by  several  eminent  authors,  and 
is  written  with  such  a  spirit  of  cheerfulness,  religion  and  good 
sense,  as  are  fhe  ni^tural.  cx)ncoaiitants  of  temperance  and 
sobriety.  The  mixture  of 'tte 'old  man  in  it  is  rather  a  recom- 
mendation fha\i>  diaercdit  to  .it.r-JosEPH  Addison,  in  "The 
Spectator."      '  -*  '  '*  '  \'  ; .    ;     '    .    • 


I 

CONTENTS 


PAOB 

BIOGRAPHICAL   INTRODUCTION   ...       7 
FIRST   DISCOURSE 

ON   A   TEMPERATE    AND    HEALTHFUL    LIFE  .  .15 


SECOND    DISCOURSE 

SHOWING    THE    SUREST    METHOD    OF    CORRECTING    AN 
INFIRM    CONSTITUTION  .  .  .  .  .38 


THIRD   DISCOURSE 

THE    METHOD   OF   ENJOYING    COMPLETE  HAPPINESS  IN 
OLD    AGE  .......       49 

FOURTH    DISCOURSE 

AN  EXHORTATION  TO  A  SOBER  AND  REGULAR  LIFE, 

IN  ORDER  TO  ATTAIN  OLD  AGE  .      .      .      .55 


345214 


INTRODUCTION 

THE    COENARO    FAMILY 

The  family  to  which  Luigi  Cornaro  belonged 
flourished  from  the  fifteenth  to  the  eighteenth  cen- 
turies, and  was  held  in  high  honor  in  the  great  days 
of  the  Venetian  Republic,  several  members  being 
elected  to  the  Chief  Magistracy.  Perhaps  the  most 
celebrated  was  a  female — Caterina  Cornaro,  who  was 
born  in  1454,  and  who^  while  yet  in  her  teens,  became 
the  wife  of  the  King  of  Cyprus,  the  island  having 
passed  under  the  dominion  of  Venice  after  the  fall  of 
the  Latin  Emperors  of  Byzantium. 

In  1473  Caterina  lost  her  husband.  Although  only 
in  her  twentieth  year  she  seized  the  reins  of  govern- 
ment, and  ruled  the  kingdom  for  sixteen  years,  when 
a  revolution  forced  her.  to  abdicate  in  favor  of  a 
Republic. 

The  ex-Queen  returned  to  Italy,  retiring  to  Asolo, 
near  Treviso,  where,  until  her  death  in  1516,  she  held 
a  brilliant  Court,  which  became  the  resort  of  the 
most  renowned  savants,  artists  and  wits  of  her  time. 

Many  portraits  of  Queen  Caterina  are  in  existence, 
the  most  celebrated  being  that  painted  by  Paolo 
Veronese,  which  is  now  in  Vienna. 

Caterina  was  not  the  only  famous  female  member 
7 


8  THE    SOBER    LIFE 

of  the  Cornaro  family ;  Lucrezia  Cornaro,  who  flour- 
ished from  1646  to  1684,  was  a  prodigy  of  learn- 
ing, her  writings — eulogies,  poems,  essays — are  well 
known  even  at  the  present  day;  she  was  a  member 
of  nearly  every  learned  society  in  Europe,  and  in 
1678  the  University  of  Padua  conferred  on  her  the 
degree  of  Doctor,  an  honor  so  rarely  bestowed  on  a 
female  as  to  be  almost  unique. 

liinGI  COBNABO, 

Thirteen  years  after  the  birth  of  Queen  Caterina, 
Luigi  first  saw  the  light  In  the  city  of  Padua. 
Throughout  early  youth  and  manhood  he  lived  freely, 
indulging  himself  without  stint,  especially  in  the  mat- 
ters of  eating  and  drinking.  Becoming  involved  in 
the  consequences  of  some  malpractices  on  the  part 
of  his  relatives,  he  was  deprived  of  his  family  digni- 
ties, and  although  not  banished  from  Venice,  he  was 
excluded  from  all  share  in  public  appointments,  which 
ill-treatment  he  took  so  much  to  heart  that  he  retired 
to  Padua. 

He  had  already  married  Veronica,  of  the  family 
of  Spiltemberg;  but  it  was  only  after  several  years 
that  the  only  child  of  this  union,  a  daughter  named 
Clara,  was  born.  This  lady  eventually  married  John 
Cornaro,  a  member  of  the  Cypriote  branch  of  the 
Comaros. 


INTRODUCTION  9 

Having  reached  the  age  of  thirty-five,  the  effects 
of  his  hitherto  intemperate  life  began  to  show  them- 
selves. As  Cornaro  himself  wrote :  "My  stomach 
became  disordered,  and  I  suffered  pain  from  colic 
and  gout,  attended  by  that  which  was  yet  worse — an 
almost  continual  slow  fever,  a  stomach  generally  out 
of  order,  and  a  perpetual  thirst.  From  these  mis- 
eries the  only  delivery  I  had  to  hope  lor  was  Death." 

HIS    REFORMATION 

Not  for  the  first  time,  so  he  tells  us,  he  sought 
medical  relief,  and,  luckily  for  himself,  he  found  men 
of  sense  who  insisted  that  his  only  remedy  lay  in 
renouncing  his  old  ways  of  life. 

He  was  urged  to  restrict  his  diet,  both  solid  and 
liquid,  to  that  usually  prescribed  to  sick  people ;  and 
to  use  even  that  as  sparingly  as  possible.  On  for- 
mer occasions,  when  offered  this  sensible  advice,  he 
had  rejected  it  with  impatience;  but  now  his  phy- 
sicians added  thiat  if  he  did  not  at  once  adopt  this 
course  of  strict  living  there  was  no  help  for  him,  and 
he  must  resign  himself  to  an  early  death. 

This  was  the  turning  point.  Cornaro  gradually 
reduced  his  diet  to  a  daily  allowance  of  twelve  ounces 
of  solid  food  and  fourteen  ounces  of  wine.  In  a  few 
days'  time  he  began  to  perceive  that  his  shattered 
health  was   on  the  road  to  restoration;   and  con- 


10  THE    SOBER    LIFE 

tinuing  this  course,  in  less  than  one  year  he  found 
himself  entirely  freed  from  all  his  complaints. 

The  change  wrought  was  not  only  physical,  but 
also  psychical :  Cornaro  avowed  that  in  his  youth  he 
had  been  of  a  hasty  and  passionate  temper;  but  by 
his  life  of  strict  sobriety  he  secured  so  complete  a 
mastery  over  himself  that  he  won  the  esteem  of  all 
who  knew  him. 

Cornaro  became  so  habituated  to  this  meagre  fare 
that  an  increase  of  two  ounces  of  food  and  two 
ounces  of  wine  per  day  proved  nearly  fatal  to  him. 
He  was  then  about  eighty  years,  of  age,  and  had  been 
urged  by  his  friends  and  relatives  that  it  was  neces- 
sary that  one  so  advanced  in  years  should  eat  more 
to  support  his  declining  powers.  Cornaro's  rational 
argument  that  as  a  man  advanced  in  years  his  stom- 
ach grew  weaker,  and  that,  therefore,  the  tendency 
should  be  to  decrease  rather  than  increase  the  sup- 
ply of  food,  did  not  deter  his  friends  from  continuing 
to  pester  him ;  to  please  them,  therefore,  and  by  way 
of  experiment,  he  increased  his  daily  allowance. 
"This  increase,"  he  writes,  "had  in  eight  day's  time 
such  an  effect  upon  me  that,  from  being  cheerful  and 
brisk,  I  began  to  be  peevish  and  melancholy,  so  that 
nothing  could  please  me.  On  the  twelfth  day  I  was 
attacked  with  a  violent  pain  in  my  side,  which  lasted 
twenty-two  hours,  and  was  followed  by  a  fever  which 


INTRODUCTION  11 

lasted  thirty-five  days  without  any  respite ;  insomuch 
that  all  looked  upon  me  as  a  dead  man.  But,  God 
be  praised,  I  recovered,  and  I  am  positive  that  it 
was  only  the  great  regularity  I  have  observed  for  so 
many  years,  and  that  only,  which  rescued  me  from 
the  jaws  of  death.'* 

Later  on,  Cornaro  yet  further  reduced  his  diet, 
until  he  found  that  he  could  support  life  and  vigor 
on  as  little  meat-food  as  one  egg  per  diem.  There  is 
much  remarkable  testimony  as  to  the  wonderful  vi- 
tality displayed  by  Cornaro,  even  when  he  had  passed 
the  age  allotted  to  man  by  the  Psalmist.  He  related 
how  he  was  thrown  from  a  carriage  and  dragged 
along  for  some  distance  before  the  horses  could  be 
stopped.  He  was  severely  battered  and  bruised,  and 
his  leg  and  arm  were  dislocated.  The  physicians  were 
of  opinion  that  there  was  no  hope  for  him,  and  gave 
him  but  three  more  days  to  live,  but  wished  to  try 
what  bleeding  and  purging  would  do  to  prevent 
inflammation  and  fever. 

But  Cornaro  stoutly  refused  to  submit  to  these 
remedial  measures.  He  allowed  his  arm  and  leg  to 
be  set,  and  himself  to  be  rubbed  with  oils,  and  shortly 
afterward  was  completely  restored,  much  to  the 
amazement  of  the  physicians. 

In  1548,  at  the  age  of  eighty,  Cornaro  published 
his  celebrated  treatise,  "Discorsi  della  vita  sobria," 


12  THE    SOBER    LIFE 

which  he  supplemented  with  three  others  on  the  same 
subject.  As  Addison  wrote,  "this  treatise  is  written 
with  such  a  spirit  of  cheerfulness,  religion,  and  good 
sense,  as  are  the  natural  concomitants  of  temperance 
and  sobriety."  Besides  these  treatises  he  is  said  to 
have  written  a  comedy  which  was  received  with  great 
applause. 

HIS    DEATH 

Luigi  Comaro  died  in  1566,  being  then  in  his 
ninety-ninth  year,  though  some  writers  have  main- 
tained that  he  survived  until  he  attained  the  ripe  age 
of  103. 

Almost  to  the  very  last  he  was  as  vigorously  active 
as  ever,  taking  pedestrian  or  riding  exercise.  His 
eyesight  and  hearing  were  sound  and  good,  and  as 
one  of  his  contemporaries  has  related,  "he  preserved 
his  voice  so  clear  and  harmonious  that  at  the  end  of 
his  life  he  sung  with  as  much  strength  and  delight 
as  he  did  at  the  age  of  twenty-five.'*  In  his  treatise 
Comaro  stated  liis  firm  belief  that  he  would  not  die 
except  hy  mere  dissolution.  He  felt  convinced  that 
by  his  regular  course  of  life  he  had,  to  use  his  own 
words :  "shut  out  all  other  avenues  of  death.'*  More 
than  once  he  expresses  his  conviction  that  pain  and 
agony  would  not  accompany  his  end  as  they  do  tliat 
of  most  other  human  beings.  And  tliis  belief  was  jus- 
tified by  fact. 


INTRODUCTION  13 

According  to  the  most  widely  accepted  evidence 
Cornaro  died  in  his  place  of  retreat  at  Padua  on 
April  26th5  1566,  and  'Was  buried  in  accordance  with 
his  own  desire,  with  simple  ceremony  in  St.  Anthony's 
Church,  on  May  8th.  From  the  same  source  we  have 
it  that  he  himself  felt  that  his  last  hour  was  drawing 
nigh,  and  he  disposed  himself,  patiently,  with  the 
purity  of  a  Christian  and  the  courage  of  a  philoso- 
pher, to  depart  this  life.  He  drew  up  his  will,  and 
set  all  his  affairs  in  order,  after  which  he  received 
the  last  sacrament,  and  awaited  death  in  his  chair. 
He  fell  into  a  slight  stupor,  feeling  no  manner  of 
pain,  and  thus  breathed  his  last  breath. 

His  wife  survived  him  some  years,  and  it  is  said 
that  "death  came  to  her  as  mercifully  as  to  her  hus- 
band." She  passed  away  without  any  convulsive 
movements,  and  with  so  perfect  a  tranquillity  that  it 
was  not  perceived  at  what  moment  she  died. 


The  First  Discourse 
ON  A  TEMPERATE  AND  HEALTHFUL  LIFE 

It  is  universally  agreed,  that  custom,  in  time,  be- 
comes a  second  nature,  forcing  men  to  use  that, 
whether  good  or  bad,  to  which  they  have  been  habit- 
uated ;  in  fact,  we  see  habit,  in  many  instances,  gain 
the  ascendancy  over  reason.  This  is  so  undeniably 
true,  that  virtuous  men,  by  keeping  company  with 
wicked,  often  fall  into  the  same  vicious  course  of  life. 
Seeing  and  considering  all  this,  I  have  decided  to 
write  on  the  vice  of  intemperance  in  eating  and 
drinking. 

Now,  though  all  are  agreed  that  intemperance  is 
the  parent  of  gluttony,  and  sober  living  the  offspring 
of  absteminousness ;  yet,  owing  to  the  power  of  cus- 
tom, the  former  is  considered  a  virtue,  and  the  latter 
as  mean  and  avaricious ;  and  so  many  men  are  blinded 
and  besotted  to  such  a  degree,  that  they  come  to  the 
age  of  forty  or  fifty,  burdened  with  strange  and  pain- 
ful infirmities,  which  render  them  decrepit  and  use- 
less ;  whereas,  had  they  lived  temperately  and  soberly, 
they  would  in  all  probability  have  been  sound  and 
hearty,  to  the  age  of  eighty  and  upward.    To  remedy 

15 


16  THE    SOBER    LIFE 

this  state  of  things,  it  is  requisite  that  men  should 
live  up  to  the  simplicity  dictated  by  nature,  which 
teaches  us  to  be  content  with  little,  and  accustom 
ourselves  to  eat  no  more  than  is  absolutely  neces- 
sary to  support  life,  remembering  that  all  excess 
causes  disease  and  leads  to  death.  How  many  friends 
of  mine,  men  of  the  finest  understanding  and  most 
amiable  disposition,  have  I  seen  carried  off  in  the 
flower  of  their  manhood  by  reason  of  excess  and  over- 
feeding, who,  had  they  been  temperate,  would  now  be 
living,  and  ornaments  to  society,  and  whose  company 
I  should  enjoy  with  as  much  pleasure  as  I  am  now 
(deprived  of  it  with  concern. 

In  order,  therefore,  to  put  a  stop  to  so  great  an 
evil,  I  have  resolved,  in  this  short  discourse,  to  demon- 
strate that  intemperance  is  an  abuse  which  may  be 
removed,  and  that  the  good  old  sober  living  may  be 
substituted  in  its  stead;  and  this  I  undertake  the 
more  readily,  as  many  young  men  of  the  best  under- 
standing have  urged  upon  me  its  necessity  because 
of  many  of  their  parents  having  died  in  middle  life, 
while  I  remain  so  sound  and  hearty  at  the  age  of 
eighty-one.  These  young  men  express  a  desire  to 
reach  the  same  term,  nature  not  forbidding  us  to  wish 
for  longevity ;  and  old  age,  being,  in  fact,  that  time 
of  life  in  which  prudence  can  be  best  exercised,  and 
the  fruits  of  all  the  other  virtues  enjoyed  with  the 


TEMPERATE   AND   HEALTHFUL  LIFE     17 

least  opposition,  the  senses  then  being  so  subdued, 
that  man  gives  himself  up  entirely  to  reason.  They 
besought  me  to  let  them  know  the  method  pursued 
by  me  to  attain  it ;  and  then,  finding  them  intent  on 
so  laudable  a  pursuit,  I  resolved  to  treat  of  that 
method,  in  order  to  be  of  service,  not  only  to  them, 
but  to  all  those  who  may  be  willing  to  peruse  this 
discourse, 

I  shall  therefore  give  my  reasons  for  renouncing 
intemperance  and  betaking  myself  to  a  sober  course 
of  life,  and  declare  freely  the  method  pursued  by  me 
for  that  purpose,  and  then  show  the  good  effect  upon 
me ;  from  whence  it  will  be  seen  how  easy  it  is  to  re- 
move the  abuse  of  free  living.  I  shall  conclude,  by 
showing  the  many  conveniences  and  blessings  of  tem- 
perate life. 

I  say,  then,  that  the  heavy  train  of  infirmities 
which  had  made  great  inroads  on  my  constitution, 
were  my  motives  for  renouncing  intemperance,  in  the 
matter  of  too  freely  eating  and  drinking,  to  which  I 
had  been  addicted,  so  that,  in  consequence  of  it,  my 
stomach  became  disordered,  and  I  suffered  much  pain 
from  colic  and  gout,  attended  by  that  which  was  still 
worse,  an  almost  continual  slow  fever,  a  stomach  gen- 
erally out  of  order,  and  a  perpetual  thirst.  From 
these  disorders,  the  best  delivery  I  had  to  hope  was 
death. 


18  THE    SOBER    LIFE 

Finding  myself,  therefore,  between  my  thirty-fifth 
and  fortieth  year  in  such  unhappy  circumstances, 
and  having  tried  everything  that  could  be  thought  of 
to  relieve  me,  but  to  no  purpose,  the  physicians  gave 
me  to  understand  that  there  was  one  method  left  to 
get  the  better  of  my  complaints,  provided  I  would 
resolve  to  use  it,  and  patiently  persevere.  This  was 
to  live  a  strictly  sober  and  regular  life,  which  would 
be  of  the  greatest  efficacy;  and  that  of  this  I  might 
convince  myself,  since,  by  my  disorders  I  was  become 
infirm,  though  not  reduced  so  low  but  that  a  regular 
life  might  still  recover  me.  They  further  added,  that, 
if  I  did  not  at  once  adopt  this  method  of  strict  liv- 
ing, I  should  in  a  few  months  receive  no  benefit  from 
it,  and  that  in  a  few  more  I  must  resign  myself  to 
death* 

These  arguments  made  such  an  impression  on  me, 
that,  mortified  as  I  was,  besides,  by  the  thought  of 
dying  in  the  prime  of  life,  though  at  the  same  time 
perpetually  tormented  by  various  diseases,  I  imme- 
diately resolved,  in  order  to  avoid  at  once  both  dis- 
ease and  death,  to  betake  myself  to  a  regular  course 
of  life.  Having  upon  this  inquired  of  them  what 
rules  I  should  follow,  they  told  mQ  that  I  must  only 
use  food,  solid  or  liquid,  such  as  is  generally  pre- 
scribed to  sick  persons ;  and  both  sparingly.  These 
directions,  to  say  the  truth,  they  had  before  given 


TEMPERATE   AND  HEALTHFUL  LIFE     19 

me,  but  I  had  been  impatient  of  such  restraint,  and 
had  eaten  and  drank  freely  of  those  things  I  had  de- 
sired. But,  xwhen  I  had  once  resolved  to  live  soberly, 
and  according  to  the  dictates  of  reason,  feeling  it 
was  my  duty  as  a  man  so  to  do,  I  entered  with  so 
much  resolution  upon  this  new  course  of  life,  that 
nothing  since  has  been  able  to  divert  me  from  it. 
The  consequence  was,  that  in  a  few  days  I  began  to 
perceive  that  such  a  course  agreed  well  with  me; 
and,  by  pursuing  it,  I  found  myself  in  less  than  a 
year  (some  people,  perhaps,  will  not  believe  it)  en- 
tirely freed  from  all  my  complaints. 

Having  thus  recovered  my  health,  I  began  seri- 
ously to  consider  the  power  of  temperance:  if  it  had 
efficacy  enough  to  subdue  such  grievous  disorders  as 
mine  it  must  also  have  power  to  preserve  me  in  health 
and  strengthen  my  bad  constitution.  I  therefore  ap- 
plied myself  diligently  to  discover  what  kinds  of  food 
suited  me  best. 

But,  first,  I  resolved  to  try  whether  those  which 
pleased  my  palate  were  agreeable  to  my  stomach,  so 
that  I  might  judge  of  the  truth  of  the  proverb,  which 
is  so  universally  held,  namely: — That,  whatever 
pleases  the  palate,  must  agree  with  the  stomach,  or, 
that  whatever  is  palatable  must  be  wholesome  and 
nourishing.  The  issue  was,  that  I  found  it  to  be 
false,  for  I  soon  found  that  many  things  which  pleased 


20  THE    SOBER    LIFE 

my  palate,  disagreed  with  my  stomach.  Having  thus 
convinced  myself  that  the  proverb  in  question  was 
false,  I  gave  over  the  use  of  such  meats  and  wines  as 
did  not  suit  me,  and  chose  those  which  by  experience 
I  found  agreed  well  with  me,  taking  onli/  as  much  as 
I  could  easily  digest,  having  strict  regard  to  quantity 
as  well  as  quality ;  and  contrived  matters  so  as  never 
to  cloy  my  stomach  with  eating  or  drinking,  and 
always  rose  from  the  table  with  a  disposition  to  eat 
and  drink  more.  In  this  I  conformed  to  the  proverb, 
which  says,  that  a  'man  to  consult  his  health  must 
chiBck  his  appetite.  Having  in  this  manner  conquered 
intemperance  I  betook  myself  entirely  to  a  temper- 
ate and  regular  life,  and  this  it  was  which  eifected  in 
me  that  alteration  already  mentioned,  that  is,  in  less 
than  a  year,  it  rid  me  of  all  those  disorders  which 
had  taken  such  hold  on  me,  and  which  appeared  at  the 
time  incurable.  It  had  likewise  this  other  good  effect, 
that  I  no  longer  experienced  those  annual  fits  of  sick- 
ness, with  wliich  I  used  to  be  afflicted  while  I  followed 
my  ordinary  free  manner  of  eating  and  drinking.  I 
also  became  exceedingly  healthy,  as  I  have  continued 
from  that  tim'e  to  this  day ;  and  for  no  other  reason 
than  that  I  never  transgressed  against  regularity  and 
strict  moderation. 

In  consequence,  therefore,  of  my  taking  such  meth- 
ods, I  have  always  enjoyed,  and,  God  be  praised,  still 


TEMPERATE   AND  HEALTHFUL  LIFE     21 

enjoy,  the  best  of  health.  It  is  true,  that,  besides 
the  two  most  important  rules  rela/tive:  to  eating  and 
drinking,  which  I  have  ever  been  very  scrupulous  to 
observe  (that  is,  not  tor  take  of  either,  more  than  my 
stomach  could  easily  digest,  'and  to  use-  only  those 
things  which  agree  with  me.) ,  I  have  oarefully  avoided, 
as  far  as  possible,  all  extreme  heat,  cold,  extraordi- 
nary fatigue,  interruption  of  my  usual  hours  of  rest, 
or  staying  long  in  bad  air.  I  likewise  did  all  that  lay 
in  my  power,  to  avoid  those  evils,  which  we  do  not 
find  it  so  easy  to  remove:  melancholy,  hatred,  aaid 
other  violent  passions,  which  appear  to  have  the 
greatest  influence  on  our  bodies.  I  have  not,  how- 
ever, been  able  to  guard  so  well  against  these  dis- 
orders, as  not  to-  suffer  myself  now  and  then  to  be 
hurried  away  by  them.  But  I  have  discovered  this 
fact,  that  these  passions.,  have,  in  the  main,  no  great 
influence  over  bodies  governed  by  the  two  foregoing 
rules  of  eating^  and  drinking.  Galen,  who  was  an 
eminent  physician,  has  said.,  that,  so  long  as  he  fol- 
lowed these  two  rules,  he  suffered  but  little  from  such 
disorders,  so  little,  that  they  never  gave  him  above 
a  day's  uneasiness.  That  what  he  says  is  true,  I  am 
a  living  witness,  and  so  are  many  others  who  know 
me,  and  have  seen  me,  how  often  I  have  been  exposed 
to  heats  and  colds,  and  disagreeable  changes  of 
weather,  without  taking  harm,  and  have  likewise  seen 


22  THE    SOBER    LIFE 

me  (owing  to  various  misfortunes  which  have  more 
than  once  befallen  me)  greatly  disturbed  in  mind; 
these  things,  however,  did  me  but  little  harm,  whereas, 
other  members  of  my  family,  w^lo  followed  not  my 
way  of  living,  were  greatly  disturbed;  such  in  a 
word,  was  their  grief  and  dejection  at  seeing  me  in- 
volved in  expensive  law  suits,  commenced  against  me 
by  great  and  powerful  men,  that,  fearing  I  should  be 
ruined,  they  were  seized  with  great  melancholy  hu- 
mor, with  which  intemperate  bodies  always  abound, 
and  such  influence  had  it  over  their  bodies,  that  they 
were  carried  off  before  their  time;  whereas,  I  suf- 
fered nothing  on  the  occasion,  as  I  h^d  in  me  no 
superfluous  humors  of  th^t  kind;  nay,  in  order  to 
keep  up  my  spirits,  I  brought  myself  to  think  that 
God  had  permitted  these  suits  against  me,  in  order  to 
make  me  more  sensible  of  my  strength  of  body  and 
mind ;  and  that  I  should  get  the  better  of  them  With 
honor  and  advantage^  as  it,  in  fact,  came  to  pass; 
for,  at  last,  I  obtained  a  decree  exceedingly  favorajble 
to  my  fortune  an.d  character. 

But  I  may  go  a  step  farther,  and  show  how  fa- 
vorable to  recovery  is  a  temperate  life,  in  case  of 
accident.  At  the  age  of  seventy  years,  I  happened, 
as  is  often  the  case,  to  be  in  a  coach,  which,  going 
at  a  smart  rate,  was  upset,  and  in  that  condition 
drawn  a  considerable  way  before  the  horses  could 


TEMPERATE   AND  HEALTHFUL  LIFE     23 

be  stopped.  I  received  so  many  shocks  and  bruises, 
that  I  was  taken  out  with  my  head  and  body  terribly 
battered,  and  a  dislocated  leg  and  arm.  When  the 
physicians  saw  me  in  so  bad  a  plight,  they  concluded 
that  in  three  days  I  should  die,  but  thought  they 
would  try  what  bleeding  and  purging  would  do,  in 
order  to  prevent  inflammation  and  fever.  But  I,  on 
the  contrary,  knowing  that,  by  reason  of  the  sober 
life  I  had  lived  for  so  many  years,  my  blood  was  in 
good  and  pure  condition,  refused  to  be  either  purged 
or  bled.  I  just  caused  my  arm  and  leg  to  be  set, 
and  suffered  myself  to  be  rubbed  with  some  oils,  which 
they  said  were  proper  on  the  occasion.  Thus,  with- 
out using  any  other  kind  of  remedy,  I  recovered,  as 
I  thought  I  should,  without  feeling  the  least  altera- 
tion in  myself,  or  any  bad  effects  from  the  accident ; 
a  thing  which  appeared  no  less  than  miraculous  in 
the  eyes  of  the  physicians.  Hence,  we  may  infer, 
that  he  who  leads  a  sober  and  regular  life,  and  com- 
mits no  excess  in  his  diet,  can  suffer  but  little  from 
mental  disorders  or  external  accidents.  On  the  con- 
trary, I  conclude,  especially  from  the  late  trial  I  have 
had,  that  excesses  in  eating  and  drinking  are  often 
fatal.  Four  years  ago,  I  consented  to  increase  the 
quantity  of  my  food  by  two  ounces,  my  friends  and 
relations  having,  for  some  time  past,  urged  upon  me 
the  necessity  of  such  increase,  that  the  quantity  I 


24  THE    SOBER    LIFE 

took  was  too  little  for  one  so  advanced  in  years; 
against  this,  I  urged  that  nature  was  content  with 
little,  and  that  with  this  small  quantity  I  had  pre- 
served myself  for  many  years  in  health  and  activity, 
that  I  believed  as  a  man  advanced  in  years,  his  stom- 
ach grew  Weaker,  and  therefore  the  tendency  should 
be  to  lessen  the  amount  of  food  rather  than  to  in- 
crease. I  further  reminded  them  of  the  two  proverbs, 
which  say:  he  who  has  a.  mind  to  eat  a  great  deal, 
must  eat  but  little;  eating  little  makes  life  long,  and, 
living  long,  he  must  eat  much ;  and  the  other  proverb 
was :  that,  what  we  leave  after  making  a  hearty  meal, 
does  us  more  good  than  what  we  have  eaten.  But  my 
arguments  and  proverbs  were  not  able  to  prevent 
them  teasing  me  upon  the  subject;  therefore,  not  to 
appear  obstinate,  or  affecting  to  know  more  than  the 
physicians  themselves,  but  above  all,  to  please  my 
family,  I  consented  to  the  increase  before  mentioned ; 
so  that,  whereas  previous,  what  with  bread,  meat,  the 
yolk  of  an  egg^  and  soup,  I  ate  as  much  as  twelve 
ounces,  neither  more  nor  less,  I  now  increased  it  to 
fourteen;  and  whereas  before  I  drank  but  fourteen 
ounces  of  wine,  I  now  increased  it  to  sixteen.  This 
increase,  had,  in  eight  days'  time,  such  an  effect  upon 
me,  that,  from  being  cheerful  and  brisk,  I  began  to 
be  peevish  and  melancholy,  so  that  nothing  could 
please  me.    On  the  twelfth  day,  I  was  attacked  with  a 


TEMPERATE   AND   HEALTHFUL  LIFE      25 

violent  pain  in  my  side,  which  lasted  twenty-two 
hours  and  was  followed  by  a  fever,  which  continued 
thirty-five  days  without  any  respite,  insomuch  that 
all  looked  upon  me  as  a  dead  man;  but,  God  be 
praised,  I  recovered,  and  I  am  positive  that  it  was 
the  great  regularity  I  had  observed  for  so  many 
years,  and  that  only,  which  rescued  me  from  the  jaws 
of  death. 

Orderly  living  is,  doubtless,  a  most  certain  cause 
and  foundation  of  health  and  long  life ;  nay,  I  say  it 
is  the  only  true  medicine,  and  whoever  weighs  the  mat- 
ter well,  will  come  to  this  conclusion.  Hence  it  is, 
that  when  the  physician  comes  to  visit  a  patient,  the 
first  thing  he  prescribes  is  regular  living,  and  cer- 
tainly to  avoid  excess.  Now,  if  the  patient  after  re- 
covery should  continue  so  to  live,  he  could  not  be 
sick  again,  and  if  a  very  small  quantity  of  food  is 
sufficient  to  re-store  his  health,  then  but  a  slight  addi- 
tion is  necessary  for  the  continuance  of  the  same ; 
and  so,  for  the  future,  he  would  want  neither  phy- 
sician nor  physic.  Nay,  by  attending  to  what  I  have 
said,  he  would  become  his  own  physician,  and  in- 
deed, the  best  he  could  have,  since,  in  fact,  no  man 
should  be  a  perfect  physician  to  any  but, himself. 
The  reason  is,  that  any  man,  by  repeated  trials,  may 
acquire  a  perfect  knowledge  of  his  own  constitution, 
the  kinds  of  food  and  drink  which  agree  with  him 


26  THE    SOBER    LIFE 

best.  These  repeated  trials  are  necessary,  as  there 
is  a  great  variety  in  the  nature  and  stomachs  of  per- 
sons. I  found  that  old  wine  did  not  suit  me,  but  that 
the  new  wines  did;  and,  after  long  practice,  I  dis- 
covered that  many  things,  which  might  not  be  in- 
jurious to  others,  were  not  good  for  me.  Now,  where 
is  the  physician  who  could  have  informed  me  which  to 
take,  and  which  to  avoid,  since  I  by  long  observation, 
could  scarce  discover  these  things. 

It  follows,  therefore,  that  it  is  impossible  to  be  a 
perfect  physician  to  another.  A  man  cannot  have  a 
better  guide  than  himself,  nor  any  physic  better  than 
a  regular  life.  I  do  not,  however,  mean  that  for  the 
knowledge  and  cure  of  such  disorders  as  befall  those 
who  live  an  irregular  life  there  is  no  occasion  for  a 
physician  and  that  his  assistance  ought  to  be  slighted ; 
such  persons  should  at  once  call  in  medical  aid,  in 
case  of  sickness.  But,  for  the  bare  purpose  of  keep- 
ing ourselves  in  good  health,  I  am  of  opinion,  that 
we  should  consider  this  regular  life  as  our  physician, 
since  it  preserves  men,  even  those  of  a  weak  constitu- 
tion, in  health ;  makes  them  live  sound  and  hearty,  to 
the  age  of  one  hundred  and  upward,  and  prevents 
their  dying  of  sickness,  or  through  the  corruption  of 
their  humors,  but  merely  by  the  natural  decay,  which 
at  the  last  must  come  to  all.  These  things,  however, 
are  discovered  but  by  few,  for  men,  for  the  most  part, 


TEMPERATE   AND   H    \:.T  IFUL  LIFE     27 

are  sensual  and  intemperate,  and  lOve  to  satisfy  their 
appetites,  and  to  commit  every  excess ;  and,  by  way 
of  apology,  say  that  they  prefer  a  short  and  self- 
indulgent  life,  to  a  long  and  self-denying  one,  not 
knowing  that  those  men  are  most  truly  happy  who 
keep  their  appetites  in  subjection.  Thus  have  I 
found  it,  and  I  prefer  to  live  temperately,  so  that  I 
may  live  long  and  be  useful.  Had  I  not  been  tem- 
perate, I  should  never  have  written  these  tracts,  which 
I  have  the  pleasure  of  thinking  will  be  serviceable  to 
others.  Sensual  men  affirm  that  no  man  can  live  a 
regular  life.  To  this  I  answer,  that  Galen,  who  was 
a  great  physician,  led  such  a  life,  and  chose  it  as  the 
best  physic.  The  same  did  Plato,  Cicero,  Isocrates, 
and  many  other  great  men  of  former  times,  whom 
not  to  tire  the  reader  I  forbear  naming;  and,  in  our 
days.  Pope  Paul  Farnese  and  Cardinal  Bembo ;  and 
it  was  for  that  reason  they  lived  so  long.  There- 
fore, since  many  have  led  this  life,  and  many  are 
actually  leading  it,  surely  all  might  conform  to  it, 
and  the  more  so,  as  no  great  difficulty  attends  it. 
Cicero  affirms  that  nothing  is  needed,  but  to-  be  in 
good  earnest.  Plato,  you  say,  though  he  himself 
lived  thus  regularly,  affirms  that,  in  republics,  men 
often  cannot  do  so,  being  obliged  to  expose  them- 
selves to  various  hardships  and  changes,  which  are 
incompatible  with  a  regular  life.     I  answer,  that  men 


28  THE    SOBER    LIFE 

who  have  to  undergo  these  things,  would  be  the  better 
able  to  bear  such  hardships  by  being  strictly  temper- 
ate in  matters  of  eating  and  drinking. 

Here  it  may  be  objected,  that  he  who  leads  this 
strict  and  regular  life,  having  constantly  when  well 
made  use  only  of  simple  food  fit  for  the  sick,  and  in 
small  quantities,  has  when  himself  in  sickness,  no  re- 
course left  in  matters  of  diet.  To  which  I  reply, 
that,  whoever  leads  a  regular  life,  cannot  be  sick  or 
at  least  but  seldom.  By  a  regular  life  I  mean,  that 
a  man  shall  ascertain  for  himself,  how  small  a  quan- 
tity of  food  and  drink  is  sufficient  to  supply  the  daily 
wants  of  his  nature  and  then  having  done  this,  and 
found  out  the  kinds  of  food  and  drink  best  suited  for 
his  constitution,  he  shall,  having  formed  his  plans, 
strictly  adhere  to  his  resolutions  and  principles,  not 
being  careful  at  one  time,  and  self-indulgent  at  others, 
for  by  so  doing,  he  would  gain  but  little  benefit ;  but 
taking  care  always  to  avoid  excess,  which  any  man 
can  certainly  do  at  all  times,  and  under  all  circum- 
stances, if  he  is  determined.  I  say  then,  that  he  who 
thus  lives  cannot  be  sick,  or  but  seldom,  and  for  a 
short  time,  because,  by  regular  living,  he  destroys 
every  seed  of  sickness,  and  thus,  by  removing  the 
cause,  prevents  the  effect;  so  that  he  who  pursues  a 
regular  and  strictly  moderate  life,  need  not  fear 
illness,  for  his  blood  having  become  pure,  and  free 


TEMPERATE   AND   HEALTHFUL  LIFE     29 

from  all  bad  humors,  it  is  not  possible  that  he  can 
fall  sick. 

Since,  therefore,  it  appears  that  a  regular  life  is 
so  profitable  and  virtuous,  it  ought  to  be  universally 
followed ;  and  more  so,  as  it  does  not  clash  with  du- 
ties of  any  kind,  but  is  easy  to  all.  Neither  is  it  nec^ 
essary  that  all  should  eat  as  little  as  I  do — twelve 
ounces — or  not  to  eat  of  many  things  from  which  I, 
because  of  the  natural  weakness  of  my  stomach,  ab- 
stain. Those  with  whom  all  kinds  of  food  agree, 
may  eat  of  such,  only  they  are  forbidden  to  eat  a 
greater  quantity,  even  of  that  which  agrees  with  them 
best,  than  their  stomachs  can  with  ease  digest.  The 
same  is  to  be  understood  of  drink.  The  only  rule 
for  such  to  observe  in  eating, and  drinking,  is  the 
quantity  rather  than  the  quality ;  but  for  those  who, 
like  myself,  are  weak  of  constitution,  these  must  not 
only  be  careful  as  to  quantity,  but  also  to  quality, 
partaking  only  of  such  things  as  are  simple,  and  easy 
to  digest. 

Let  no  one  tell  me  that  there  are  numbers,  who, 
though  they  live  most  irregularly,  attain  in  health 
and  spirits  to  a  great  age.  This  argument  is 
grounded  on  uncertainty  and  hazard,  and  such  cases 
are  rare.  Men  should  not,  therefore,  because  of  these 
exceptional  cases,  be  persuaded  to  irregularity  or 
indulgence.     Whoever,  trusting  to  the  strength  of 


80  THE    SOBER    LIFE 

his  constitution,  slights  these  observations,  may  ex- 
pect to  suffer  by  so  doing,  and  to  live  in  constant 
danger  of  disease  and  death.  I  therefore  affirm,  that 
a  man,  even  of  a  bad  constitution,  who  leads  a  strictly 
regular  and  sober  life,  is  surer  of  a  long  one,  than  he 
of  the  best  constitution  who  lives  carelessly  and  ir- 
regularly. If  men  have  a  mind  to  live  long  and 
healthy,  and  die  without  sickness  of  body  or  mind, 
but  by  mere  dissolution,  they  must  submit  to  a  regu- 
lar and  abstemious  life,  for  such  a  life  keeps  the  blood 
clean  and  pure.  It  suffers  no  vapors  to  ascend  from 
the  stomach  to  the  head;  hence,  the  brain  of  him 
who  thus  lives  enjoys  constant  serenity;  he  can  soar 
above  the  low  and  groveling  concerns  of  this  life  to 
the  exalted  and  beautiful  contemplation  of  heavenly 
things  to  his  exceeding  comfort  and  satisfaction.  He 
then  truly  discerns  the  brutality  of  those  excesses 
into  which  men  fall,  and  which  bring  them  misery 
here  and  hereafter;  while  he  may  with  comfort  look 
forward  to  a  long  life,  conscious  that,  through  the 
mercy  of  God,  he  has  relinquished  the  paths  of  vice 
and  intemperance,  never  again  to  enter  them;  and, 
through  the  merits  of  our  Saviour  Jesus  Christ,  to 
idie  in  His  favor.  He  therefore  does  not  suffer  him- 
self to  be  cast  down  with  the  thoughts  of  death,  know- 
ing that  it  will  not  attack  him  violently,  or  by  sur- 
prise, or  with  sharp  pains  and  feverish  sensations, 


TEMPERATE   AND   HEALTHFUL  LIFE     31 

but  will  come  upon  him  with  ease  and  gentleness ;  like 
a  lamp,  the  oil  of  which  is  exhausted,  he  will  pass 
gently,  and  without  any  sickness,  from  this  terres- 
trial and  mortal,  to  a  celestial  and  eternal  life. 

Some  sensual  unthinking  persons  affirm,  that  a 
long  life  is  no  great  blessing,  and  that  the  state  of  a 
man,  who  has  passed  his  seventy-fifth  year,  cannot 
really  be  called  life ;  but  this  is  wrong,  as  I  shall  fully 
prove;  and  it  is  my  sincere  wish,  that  all  men  would 
endeavor  to  attain  my  age,  that  they  might  enjoy 
that  period  of  life,  which  of  all  others  is  most  de- 
sirable. 

I  will  therefore  give  an  account  of  my  recreations, 
and  the  relish  which  I  find  at  this  stage  of  life.  There 
are  many  who  can  give  testimony  as  to  the  happiness 
of  my  life.  In  the  first  place,  they  see  with  astonish- 
ment the  good  state  of  my  health  and  spirits ;  how  I 
mount  my  horse  without  assistance,  how  I  not  only 
ascend  a  flight  of  stairs,  but  can  climb  a  hill  with 
greatest  ease.  Then,  how  gay  and  good-humored  I 
am ;  my  mind  ever  undisturbed,  in  fact,  joy  and  peace 
having  fixed  their  abode  in  my  breast.  Moreover, 
they  know  in  what  manner  I  spend  my  time,  so  as 
never  to  find  life  weary:  I  pass  my  hours  in  great 
delight  and  pleasure,  in  converse  with  men  of  good 
sense  and  intellectual  culture;  then,  when  I  cannot 
enjoy  their  company,  I  betake  myself  to  the  reading 


82  THE    SOBER    LIFE 

of  some  good  book.  When  I  have  read  as  much  as  I 
like,  I  write ;  endeavoring  in  this,  as  in  other  things 
to  be  of  service  to  others ;  and  these  things  I  do  with 
the  greatest  ease  to  myself,  living  in  a  pleasant  house 
in  the  most  beautiful  quarter  of  this  noble  city  of 
Padua.  Besides  this  house,  I  have  my  gardens,  sup- 
plied with  pleasant  streams  in  which  I  always  find 
something  to  do  which  amuses  me.  Nor  are  my  rec- 
reations rendered  less  agreeable  by  the  failing  of  any 
of  my  senses,  for  they  are  all,  thank  God,  perfect, 
particularly  my  palate,  which  now  relishes  better  the 
simple  fare  I  have,  than  it  formerly  did  the  most 
delicate  dishes,  when  I  led  an  irregular  life.  Nor 
does  the  change  of  beds  give  me  any  uneasiness:  I 
can  sleep  everywhere  soundly  and  quietly,  and  my 
dreams  are  pleasant  and  delightful.  It  is  likewise 
with  the  greatest  pleasure  I  behold  the  success  of  an 
undertaking  so  important  to  this  state;  I  mean  that 
of  draining  and  improving  so  many  uncultivated 
pieces  of  ground,  an  undertaking  begun  within  my 
memory,  but  which  I  thought  I  should  never  see  com- 
pleted; nevertheless  I  have,  and  was  even  in  person 
assisting  in  the  work  for  two  months  together,  in 
those  marshy  places  during  the  heats  in  summer, 
without  ever  finding  myself  worse  for  the  fatigues  or 
inconveniences  I  suffered ;  of  so  much  efficacy  is  that 
orderly   life,   which   I   everywhere    constantly   lead. 


TEMPERATE   AND   HEALTHFUL  LIFE     33 

Such  are  some  of  the  recreations  and  diversions  of 
my  old  age,  which  is  so  much  the  more  to  be  valued 
than  the  old  age,  or  even  the  youth  of  other  men ;  as, 
being  freed  by  God's  grace  from  the  perturbations 
of  the  mind  and  the  infirmities  of  the  body,  I  no 
longer  experience  any  of  those  contrary  emotions 
which  rack  such  a  number  of  young  men  and  as  many 
old  ones,  who,  by  reason  of  their  careless  living 
and  intemperate  habits,  are  destitute  of  health  and 
strength,  and  consequently  of  all  true  enjoyment. 

And  if  it  be  lawful  to  compare  little  matters  to 
aifairs  of  importance,  I  will  further  venture  to  say, 
that  such  are  the  effects  of  this  sober  life,  that,  at  my 
present  age  of  eighty-three,  I  have  been  able  to  write 
an  entertaining  comedy,  abounding  with  innocent 
mirth  and  pleasant  jests. 

I  have  yet  another  comfort  which  I  will  mention; 
that  of  seeing  a  kind  of  immortality  in  a  succession 
of  descendants;  for,  as  often  as  I  return  home,  I 
find  before  me,  not  one  or  two,  but  eleven  grandchil- 
dren, the  oldest  of  them  eighteen,  all  the  offspring  of 
one  father  and  mother,  and  all  blessed  with  good 
health.  Some  of  the  youngest  I  play  with;  those 
older,  I  make  companions  of;  and,  as  nature  has  be- 
stowed good  voices  upon  them,  I  amuse  myself  by 
hearing  them  sing,  and  play  on  different  instruments. 
Nay,  I  sing  myself,  as  I  have  a  better  voice  now, 


84  THE    SOBER    LIFE 

clearer  and  louder,  than  at  any  period  of  my  life. 
Such  are  the  recreations  of  my  old  age. 

Whence  it  appears,  that  the  life  I  lead  is  not 
gloomy,  but  cheerful,  and  I  would  not  exchange  my 
manner  of  living  and  my  gray  hairs,  with  that  of 
even  a  young  man,  having  the  best  constitution,  who 
gave  way  to  his  appetites;  knowing,  as  I  do,  that 
such  are  daily  subject  to  a  thousand  kinds  of  ail- 
ments and  death.  I  remember  my  own  conduct  in 
early  life,  and  I  know  how  foolhardy  are  young  men ; 
how  apt  they  are  to  presume  on  their  strength  in  all 
their  actions,  and  by  reason  of  their  little  experience, 
are  oversanguine  in  their  expectations.  Hence,  they 
often  expose  themselves  rashly  to  every  kind  of  dan- 
ger, and,  banishing  reason,  bow  their  necks  to  the 
yoke  of  concupiscence,  and  endeavor  to  gratify  all 
their  appetites,  not  minding,  fools  as  they  are,  that 
they  thereby  hasten  the  approach  of  what  they  would 
most  willingly  avoid,  sickness  and  death. 

And  these  are  two  great  evils  to  all  men  who  live 
a  free  life;  the  one  is  troublesome  and  painful,  the 
other,  dreadful  and  insupportable,  especially  when 
they  reflect  on  the  errors  to  which  this  mortal  life  is 
subject,  and  on  the  vengeance  which  the  justice  of 
God  is  wont  to  take  on  sinners.  Whereas,  I,  in  my 
old  age,  praise  to  the  Almighty,  am  exempt  from 
these  torments ;  from  the  first,  because  I  cannot  fall 


TEMPERATE   AND   HEALTHFUL  LIFE     35 

sick,  having  removed  all  the  cause  of  illness  by  my 
regularity  and  moderation;  from  the  other,  that  of 
death,  because  from  so  many  years'  experience,  I 
have  learned  to  obey  reason ;  whereas,  I  not  only  think 
it  a  great  folly  to  fear  that  which  cannot  be  avoided, 
but  likewise  firmly  expect  some  consolation,  from  the 
grace  of  Jesus  Christ,  when  I  arrive  at  that  period. 

But  though  I  know  I  must,  like  others,  reach  that 
term,  it  is  yet  at  so  great  a  distance  that  I  cannot 
discern  it,  because  /  kno'm  I  shall  not  die  except  hy 
mere  dissolwtion,  having  already,  by  my  regular 
course  of  life,  shut  up  all  other  avenues  of  death, 
and  thus  prevented  the  humors  of  my  body  making 
any  other  war  upon  me,  than  that  which  I  must  ex- 
pect from  the  elements  employed  in  the  composition 
of  this  mortal  frame.  I  am  not  so  simple  as  not  to 
know  that,  as  I  was  born,  so  I  must  die;  but  the 
natural  death  that  I  speak  of  does  not  overtake  one, 
until  after  a  long  course  of  years ;  and  even  then,  I 
do  not  expect  the  pain  and  agony  which  most  men 
suffer  when  they  die.  But  I,  by  God's  blessing, 
reckon  that  I  have  still  a  long  time  to  live  in  health 
and  spirits,  and  enjoy  this  beautiful  world,  which  is, 
indeed,  beautiful  to  those  who  know  how  to  make  it 
so,  but  its  beauty  can  only  be  realized  by  those  who, 
by  reason  of  temperance  and  virtue,  enjoy  sound 
health  of  body  and  mind. 


36  THE    SOBER    LIFE 

Now,  if  this  sober  and  moderate  manner  of  living 
brings  so  much  happiness ;  if  the  blessings  that  attend 
it  are  so  stable  and  permanent,  then  I  beseech  every 
man  of  sound  judgment  to  embrace  this  valuable 
treasure,  that  of  a  long  and  healthful  life,  a  treasure 
which  exceeds  all  other  worldly  blessings,  and,  there- 
fore, should  be  sought  after ;  for  what  is  wealth  and 
abundance  to  a  man  who  is  possessed  with  a  feeble 
and  sickly  body?  This  is  that  divine  sobriety,  agree- 
able to  God,  the  friend  of  nature,  the  daughter  of 
reason,  the  sister  of  all  the  virtues,  the  companion  of 
temperate  living,  modest,  courteous,  content  with  lit- 
tle, regular,  and  perfectly  mistress  of  all  her  opera- 
tions. From  her,  as  from  their  proper  root,  spring 
life,  health,  cheerfulness,  industry,  learning  and  all 
those  actions  and  employments  worthy  of  noble  and 
generous  minds.  The  laws  of  God  are  all  in  her  favor. 
Repletion,  excess,  intemperance,  superfluous  humors, 
diseases,  fevers,  pains,  and  the  dangers  of  death,  van- 
ish in  her  presence,  as  mists  before  the  sun.  Her 
comeliness  ravishes  every  well-disposed  mind.  Her 
influence  is  so  sure,  as  to  promise  to  all  a  long  and 
agreeable  life.  And,  lastly,  she  promises  to  be  a  mild 
and  pleasant  guardian  of  life,  teaching  how  to  ward 
off  the  attacks  of  death.  Strict  sobriety,  in  eating 
and  drinking,  renders  the  senses  and  understanding 
clear,   the  memory  tenacious,  the  body  lively   and 


TEMPERATE    AND    HEALTHFUL    LIFE      37 

strong,  the  movements  regular  and  easy;  and  the 
soul,  feeling  so  little  of  her  earthly  burden,  experi- 
ences much  of  her  natural  liberty.  The  man  thus 
enjoys  a  pleasing  and  agreeable  harmony,  there  be- 
ing nothing  in  his  system  to  disturb ;  for  his  blood  is 
pure,  and  runs  freely  through  his  veins,  and  the  heat 
of  his  body  is  mild  and  temperate. 


The  Second  Discourse 

SHOWING  THE  SUREST  METHOD  OF  COR- 
RECTING AN  INFIRM  CONSTITUTION 

My  treatise  on  a  sober  life  has  begun  to  answer 
my  desire,  in  being  of  service  to  many  persons  bom 
of  a  weak  constitution,  or  who,  by  reason  of  free  liv- 
ing, have  become  infirm,  who,  when  they  commit  the 
least  excess,  find  themselves  greatly  indisposed.  I 
should  also  be  glad  to  be  of  service  to  those,  who, 
bom  with  a  good  constitution,  yet,  by  reason  of  a 
disorderly  life,  find  themselves  at  the  age  of  fifty  or 
sixty  attacked  with  various  pains  and  diseases,  such 
as  gout,  sciatica,  liver  and  stomach  complaints,  to 
which  they  would  not  be  subject,  were  they  to  live  a 
strictly  temperate  life,  and  by  so  doing  would  more- 
over greatly  increase  the  term  of  their  existence,  and 
live  with  much  greater  comfort;  they  would  find 
themselves  less  irritable,  and  less  disposed  to  be  upset 
by  inconvenience  and  annoyance.  I  was  myself  of  a 
most  irritable  disposition,  insomuch  that  at  times 
there  was  no  living  with  me.  Now,  for  a  very  long 
time  it  has  been  otherwise,  and  I  can  see  that  a  per- 
son swayed  by  his  passions  is  little  or  no  better  than 
a  madman  at  such  times. 

88 


AN    INFIRM    CONSTITUTION  39 

The  man,  also,  who  is  of  a  bad  constitution,  may, 
by  dint  of  reason,  and  a  regular  and  sober  life,  live 
to  a  great  age  and  in  good  health,  as  I  have  done, 
who  had  naturally  one  of  the  worst,  so  that  it  ap- 
peared impossible  I  should  live  above  forty  years, 
whereas,  I  now  find  myself  sound  and  hearty  at  the 
age  of  eighty-six ;  forty-six  years  beyond  the  time  I 
had  expected;  and  during  this  long  respite  all  my 
senses  have  continued  perfect ;  and  even  my  teeth,  my 
voice,  my  memory,  and  my  heart.  But  what  is  still 
more,  my  brain  is  clearer  now  than  it  ever  was.  Nor 
do  any  of  my  powers  abate  as  I  advance  in  life ;  and 
this  because,  as  I  grow  older,  I  lessen  the  quantity  of 
my  solid  food.  This  retrenchment  is  necessary,  since 
it  is  impossible  for  man  to  live  for  ever;  and,  as  he 
draws  near  his  end,  he  is  brought  so  low  as  to  be 
able  to  take  but  little  nourishment,  and  at  such  times, 
the  yolk  of  an  egg,  and  a  few  spoonfuls  of  milk  with 
bread,  is  quite  sufficient  during  the  twenty-four 
hours;  a  greater  quantity  would  most  likely  cause 
pain,  and  shorten  life.  In  my  own  case,  I  expect  to 
die  without  any  pain  or  sickness,  and  this  is  a  bless- 
ing of  great  importance;  yet  may  be  expected  by 
those  who  shall  lead  a  sober  life,  whether  they  be 
rich  or  poor.  And,  since  a  long  and  healthy  life 
ought  to  be  greatly  coveted  by  every  man,  then  I 
conclude  that  all  men  are  in  duty  bound  to  exert 


40  THE    SOBER    LIFE 

themselves  to  that  effect ;  nevertheless  such  a  blessing 
cannot  be  obtained  without  strict  temperance  and 
sobriety.  But  some  allege  that  many,  without  lead- 
ing such  a  life,  have  lived  to  a  hundred,  and  that  in 
good  health,  though  they  ate  a  great  deal,  and  used 
indiscriminately  eVery  kind  of  viands  and  wine,  and 
therefore  they  flatter  themselves  that  they  shall  be 
equally  fortunate.  But  in  this  they  are  guilty  of  two 
mistakes :  the  first  is,  that  it  is  not  one  in  fifty  thou- 
sand that  eVer  attains  that  happiness ;  the  other  mis- 
take is,  that  such,  in  the  end,  most  certainly  contract 
some  illness,  which  carries  them  off:  nor  can  they  be 
sure  of  ending  their  days  otherwise ;  so  that  the  safest 
way  to  attain  a  long  and  healthful  life,  is  to  embrace 
sobriety,  and  to  diet  oneself  strictly  as  to  quantity. 
And  this  is  no  very  difficult  affair.  History  informs 
us  of  many  who  lived  in  the  greatest  temperance; 
and  this  present  age  furnishes  us  with  many  such, 
reckoning  myself  one  of  the  number:  we  are  all  hu- 
man beings,  endowed  with  reason,  and  consequently 
we  ought  to  be  master  of  all  our  actions. 

This  sobriety  is  reduced  to  two  things,  quality  and 
quantity.  Ths  first  consists  in  avoiding  food  or 
drinks,  which  are  found  to  disagree  with  the  stomach. 
The  second,  to  avoid  taking  more  than  the  stomach 
can  easily  digest;  and  every  man  at  the  age  of  forty 
ought  to  be  a  perfect  judge  in  these  matters;  and 


AN    INFIRM    CONSTITUTION  41 

whoever  observes  these  two  rules,  may  be  said  to  live 
a  regular  and  sober  life.  And  the  virtue  and  efficacy 
of  this  life  is  such,  that  the  humors  in  a  man's  blood 
become  harmonious  and  perfect,  and  are  no  longer 
liable  to  be  disturbed  or  corrupted  by  any  disorders, 
such  as  suffering  from  excessive  heat  or  cold,  too 
much  fatigue,  or  want  of  rest,  and  the  like.  A  man 
who  lives  as  I  have  described,  may  pass  through  all 
these  changes  without  harm.  Wherefore,  since  the 
humors  of  persons  who  observe  these  two  rules  rela- 
tive to  eating  and  drinking,  cannot  possibly  be  cor- 
rupted and  engender  acute  diseases  (the  cause  of  un- 
timely death),  every  man  is  bound  to  comply  with 
them,  for  whoever  acts  otherwise,  living  a  disorderly 
life,  instead  of  a  regular  one,  is  constantly  exposed 
to  disease  and  death. 

It  is,  indeed,  true  that  even  those  who  observe  the 
two  rules  relating  to  diet,  the  observance  of  which 
constitutes  a  regular  life,  may,  by  committing  any 
one  of  the  other  irregularities,  such  as  excessive  heat, 
cold,  fatigue,  etc.,  find  himself  slightly  indisposed  for 
a  day  or  two,  but  he  need  fear  nothing  worse. 

But  as  there  are  some  persons  who,  though  well 
stricken  in  years,  are,  nevertheless,  very  free  in  their 
living,  and  allege  that  neither  the  quantity  nor  the 
quality  of  theii*  diet  makes  any  impression  upon 
them,  and  therefore  eat  a  great  deal  of  everything 


42  THE    SOBER    LIFE 

without  distinction,  and  indulge  themselves  equally 
in  point  of  drinking;  such  men  are  ignorant  of  the 
requirements  of  their  nature,  or  they  are  gluttonous ; 
and  I  do  affirm,  that  such  do  not  enjoy  good  health, 
but  as  a  rule  are  infirm,  irritable,  and  full  of  maladies. 
There  are  others,  who  say  that  it  is  necessary  that 
they  should  eat  and  drink  freely  to  keep  up  their 
natural  heat,  which  is  constantly  diminishing,  as  they 
advance  in  years ;  and  that  it  is  therefore  their  duty 
to  eat  heartily  of  such  things  as  please  their  palate, 
and  that  strict  moderation,  in  their  casef.  Would  tend 
to*  shorten  life.  Now,  this  is  the  reason,  or  excuse,  of 
thousands.  But  to  all  this,  I  answer,  that  all  such 
are  deceiving  themselves,  and  I  speak  from  experi- 
ence, as  well  as  observation.  The  fact  is,  large  quan- 
tities of  food  cannot  be  digested  by  old  stomachs ;  as 
man  gets  weaker  as  he  grows  older,  and  the  waste  in 
his  system  is  slower*,  the  natural  heat  certainly  is 
less.  Nor  will  all  the  food  in  the  world  increase  it, 
except  to  bring  on  fever  and  distressing  disorders; 
therefore,  let  none  be  afraid  of  shortening  their  days 
by  eating  too  little.  I  am  strong  and  hearty,  and  full 
of  good  spirits,  neither  have  I  ache  or  pain,  and  yet 
I  am  very  old,  and  subsist  upon  very  little;  and,  in 
this  respect,  that  which  would  suit  one  man,  is  good 
for  another.  When  men  are  taken  ill  they  discoiv- 
tinue,  or  nearly  so,  their  food.    Now,  if  by  reducing 


AN    INFIRM    CONSTITUTION  43 

themselves  to  a  small  quantity,  they  recover  from  the 
jaws  of  death,  how  can  they  doubt,  but  that,  with  a 
slight  increase  of  diet  consistent  with  reason,  they 
will  be  able  to  support  nature,  when  in  health.  Let 
a  fair,  honest  trial  of  some  few  weeks  be  given,  and 
the  result  would,  in  all  cases,  be  most  pleasing. 

Others  say,  that  it  is  better  for  a  man  to  suffer 
three  or  four  times  every  year,  from  gout,  sciatica, 
or  whatever  disorder  to  which  he  may  be  subject, 
than  be  tormented  the  whole  year  by  not  indulging 
his  appetite,  and  eating  and  drinking  just  as  he 
pleases,  since  he  can  always  by  a  few  days  of  self- 
denial  recover  from  all  such  attacks.  To  this  I  an- 
swer, that,  our  natural  heat  growing  less  and  less  as 
we  advance  in  years,  no  abstinence  for  a  short  time 
can  have  virtue  sufficient  to  conquer  the  malady  to 
which  the  man  is  subject,  and  which  is  generally 
brought  on  by  repletion,  so  that  he  must  die  at  last  of 
one  of  these  periodical  disorders;  for  they  abridge 
life  in  the  same  proportion  as  temperance  and  health 
prolong  it. 

Others  pretend  that  it  is  better  to  live  a  short  and 
self-indulgent  life,  than  a  long  and  self-denying  one ; 
but  surely,  longevity  ought  to  be  valued,  and  is,  by 
men  of  good  understanding;  and  those  who  do  not 
truly  prize  this  great  gift  of  God,  are  surely  a  dis- 
grace to  mankind,  and  their  death  is  a  service  to  the 


U  THE    SOBER    LIFE 

public  rather  than  not.  And  again,  there  are  some, 
who,  though  they  are  conscious  that  they  become 
weaker  as  they  advance  in  years,  yet  cannot  be 
brought  to  retrench  the  quantity  of  their  food,  but 
rather  increase  it,  and,  because  they  find  themselves 
unable  to  digest  the  great  quantity  of  food,  with 
which  they  load  their  stomachs  twice  or  thrice  a  day, 
they  resolve  to  eat  but  once,  heartily,  in  the  twenty- 
four  hours.  But  this  course  is  useless ;  for  the  stom- 
ach is  still  overburdened,  and  the  food  is  not  digested, 
but  turns  into  bad  humors,  by  which  the  blood  be- 
comes poisoned,  and  thus  a  man  kills  himself  long 
before  his  time.  I  never  met  with  an  aged  person  who 
enjoyed  health,  and  lived  that  manner  of  life.  Now, 
all  these  men  whose  manner  of  life  I  have  named, 
would  live  long  and  happily,  if,  as  they  advanced  in 
years,  they  lessened  the  quantity/  of  their  food,  and 
ate  oftener,  and  but  little  at  a  time,  for  old  stomachs 
cannot  digest  large  quantities,  men  at  this  age  be- 
coming children  again,  who  eat  little  and  often  during 
the  twenty-four  hours. 

O  thrice  holy  sobriety,  so  useful  to  man,  by  rea- 
son of  the  service  thou  dost  render  him !  Thou  pro- 
longest  his  days,  by  which  means  he  greatly  improves 
his  understanding  and,  by  such  knowledge,  he  can 
avoid  the  bitter  fruits  of  sensuality,  which  is  an  enemy 
to  man's  reason.     Thou,  moreover,  freest  him  from 


AN    INFIRM    CONSTITUTION  45 

the  dreadful  thoughts  of  death.  How  greatly  ought 
we  to  be  indebted  to  thee,  since  by  thee  we  en- 
joy this  beautiful  world,  which  is  really  beautiful  to 
all  whose  sensibilities  have  not  been  deadened  by  re- 
pletion, and  whose  minds  have  not  been  blighted  by 
sensuality!  I  really  never  knew  till  I  grew  old,  that 
the  world  was  so  beautiful ;  for,  in  my  younger  years 
I  was  debauched  by  irregularities,  and  therefore 
could  not  perceive  and  enjoy,  as  I  do  now,  its  beau- 
ties. O  truly  happy  life,  which,  over  and  above  all 
these  favors  conferred  on  me,  hast  so  improved  and 
perfected  my  body,  that  now  I  have  a  better  relish 
for  plain  bread,  than  formerly  I  had  for  the  most  ex- 
quisite dainties!  in  fact  I  find  such  sweetness  in  it, 
because  of  the  good  appetite  I  always  have,  that  I 
should  be  afraid  of  sinning  against  temperance,  were 
I  not  convinced  of  the  absolute  necessity  for  it,  and 
knowing  that  pure  bread  is,  above  all  things,  man's 
best  food,  and  while  he  leads  a  sober  life,  he  may  be 
sure  of  never  wanting  that  natural  sauce, — a  good 
appetite — and  moreover,  I  find  that,  whereas  I  used 
to  eat  twice  a  day,  now  that  I  am  much  older,  it  is 
better  for  me  to  eat  four  times,  and  still  to  lessen  the 
quantity  as  the  years  increase.  And  this  is  what  I 
do,  guided  by  my  experience;  therefore,  my  spirits 
being  never  oppressed  by  too  much  food,  are  always 
brisk;  especially  after  eating,  so  that  I  enjoy  much 


46  THE    SOBER    LIFE 

the  singing  of  a  song,  before  I  sit  down  to  my  writing. 

Nor  do  I  ever  find  myself  the  worse  for  writing 
(directly  after  meals;  my  understanding  is  never 
clearer ;  and  I  am  never  drowsy ;  the  food  I  take  being 
too  small  a  quantity  to  send  up  any  fumes  to  the 
brain,  O,  how  advantageous  it  is  to  an  old  man  to 
eat  but  little;  therefore  I  take  but  just  enough  to 
keep  body  and  soul  together,  and  the  things  I  eat  are 
as  follows:  bread,  panado,  eggs  (the  yolk),  and 
soups.  Of  flesh  meat,  I  eat  kid  and  mutton.  I  eat 
poultry  of  every  kind;  also  of  sea  and  river  fish. 
Some  men  are  too  poor  to  allow  themselves  food  of 
this  kind,  but  they  may  do  well  on  bread  (made  from 
wheat  meal,  which  contains  far  more  nutriment  than 
bread  made  from  fine  flour),  panado,  eggs,  milk,  and 
vegetables.  But  though  a  man  should  eat  nothing 
but  these,  he  may  not  eat  more  than  his  stomach  can 
with  ease  digest,  never  forgetting  that  it  is  the  over- 
quantity  which  injures,  even  more  than  the  eating  of 
unsuitable  food.  And  again  I  say,  that  whoever  does 
not  transgress,  in  point  of  either  quantity  or  quality, 
cannot  die,  but  by  mere  dissolution,  except  in  cases 
where  there  is  some  inherited  disease  to  combat;  but 
such  case^  are  comparatively  rare,  and  even  here  a 
strict  and  sober  diet  will  be  of  the  greatest  service. 

O,  what  a  diflFerence  between  a  regular  and  tem- 
perate life,  and  an  irregular  and  intemperate  life! 


AN    INFIRM    CONSTITUTION  47 

One  gives  health  and  longevity,  the  other  produces 
disease  and  untimely  death.  How  many  of  my  dear- 
est relations  and  friends  have  I  lost  by  their  free 
living,  whereas,  had  they  listened  to  me,  they  might 
have  been  full  of  life  and  health.  I  am  thus  more 
than  ever  determined  to  use  my  utmost  endeavors  to 
make  known  the  benefit  of  my  kind  of  life.  Here  I 
am,  an  old  man,  yet  full  of  life  and  joy,  happier  than 
at  any  previous  period  of  my  life,  surrounded  by 
many  comforts;  not  the  least  to  mention  are  my 
eleven  grand-children,  all  of  fine  understanding  and 
amiable  disposition,  beautiful  in  their  persons,  and 
well  disposed  to  learning;  and  these,  I  hope  so  to 
teach,  that  they  shall  take  pattern  after  me,  and 
follow  my  kind  of  life. 

Now,  I  am  often  at  a  loss  to  understand  why  men 
of  fine  parts  and  understanding,  who  have  attained 
middle  age,  do  not,  when  they  find  themselves  attacked 
by  disorders  and  sickness,  betake  themselves  to  a 
regular  life,  and  that  constantly.  Is  it  because  thiey 
are  in  ignorance  as  to  the  importance  of  this  sub- 
ject? Surely,  it  cannot  be  that  they  afe  enslaved 
by  their  appetites  to  such  an  extent  that  they  find 
themselves  unable  to  adopt  a  strict  and  regular  diet? 
As  to  young  men,  I  am  in  no  way  surprised  at  their 
refusal  to  live  such  a  life,  for  their  passions  are 
strong  and  usually  their  guide.     Neither  have  they 


48  THE    SOBER    LIFE 

much  experience;  but,  when  a  man  has  arrived  at 
the  age  of  forty  or  fifty,  surely  he  should  in  all 
things  be  governed  by  reason.  And  this  would  teach 
men  that  gratifying  the  appetite  and  palate,  is  not, 
as  many  affirm,  natural  and  right,  but  is  the  cause 
of  disease  and  premature  death.  Were  this  pleasure 
of  the  palate  lasting,  it  would  be  some  excuse ;  but  it 
is  momentary,  compared  with  the  duration  of  the  dis- 
ease which  its  excess  engenders.  But  it  is  a  great 
comfort  to  a  man  of  sober  life  to  reflect,  that  what  he 
eats  will  keep  him  in  good  health,  and  be  productive 
of  no  disease  or  infirmity. 


The  Third  Discourse 

THE   METHOD   OF  ENJOYING   COMPLETE 
HAPPINESS  IN  OLD  AGE 

My  Lord, 

In  writing  to  your  Lordship,  it  is  true  I  shall 
speak  of  few  things,  but  such  as  I  have  already  men- 
tioned in  my  essays,  but  I  am  sure  your  Lordship 
will  not  tire  of  the  repetition. 

Now,  my  Lord,  to  begin,  I  must  tell  you,  that 
being  now  at  the  age  of  ninety-one,  I  am  more  sound 
and  hearty  than  ever,  much  to  the  amazement  of 
those  who  know  me.  I,  who  can  account  for  it,  am 
bound  to  show  that  a  man  can  enjoy  a  terrestrial 
paradise  after  eighty;  but  it  is  not  to  be  obtained, 
except  by  strict  temperance  in  food  and  drink,  vir- 
tues acceptable  to  God  and  friends  to  reason.  I 
must,  however,  go  on  to  tell  you,  that,  during  the 
past  few  days  I  have  been  visited  by  many  of  the 
learned  doctors  of  this  university,  as  well  as  physi- 
cians and  philosophers  who  were  well  acquainted  with 
my  age,  life,  and  manners,  also,  that  I  was  stout, 
hearty,  and  lively,  my  senses  perfect,  also  my  voice 
and  teeth,  likewise  my  memory  and  judgment.    They 

49 


60  THE    SOBER    LIFE 

knew,  besides,  that  I  constantly  employed  eight  hours 
every  day  in  writing  treatises,  with  my  own  hand,  on 
subjects  useful  to  mankind,  and  spent  many  more 
in  walking  and  singing.  O,  my  Lord,  how  melodious 
my  voice  is  grown!  Were  you  to  hear  me  chant 
my  prayers,  and  that  to  my  lyre,  after  the  example 
of  David,  I  am  certain  it  would  give  you  great  pleas- 
ure, my  voice  is  so  musical. 

Now,  these  doctors  and  philosophers  told  me  that 
it  was  next  to  a  miracle,  that  at  my  age,  I  should  be 
able  to  write  upon  subjects  which  required  both  judg- 
ment and  spirit,  and  added  that  I  ought  not  to  be 
looked  upon  as  a  person  advanced  in  years,  since  all 
my  occupations  were  those  of  a  young  man,  and  that 
I  was  altogether  unlike  aged  people  of  seventy  and 
eighty,  who  are  subject  to  various  ailments  and  dis- 
eases, which  render  life  a  weariness;  or,  if  even  any 
by  chance  escape  these  things,  yet  their  senses  are 
impaired,  sight,  or  hearing,  or  memory  is  defective, 
and  all  their  faculties  much  decayed;  they  are  not 
strong,  nor  cheerful,  as  I  am.  And  they  moreover 
said,  that  they  looked  upon  me  as  having  special 
grace  conferred  upon  me,  and  said  a  great  many 
eloquent  and  fine  things,  in  endeavoring  to  prove 
this,  which,  however,  they  could  not  do,  for  their 
arguments  were  not  grounded  on  good  and  sufGcient 
reasons,  but  merely  on  their  opinions.     I  therefore 


HAPPINESS    IN    OLD    AGE  51 

endeavored  to  undeceive  and  set  them  right,  and 
convince  them  that  the  happiness  I  enjoyed  was  not 
confined  to  me,  but  might  be  common  to  all  mankind, 
since  I  was  but  a  mere  mortal,  and  different  in  no 
respect  from  other  men,  save  in  this,  that  I  was  born 
more  weakly  than  some,  and  had  not  what  is  called 
a  strong  constitution.  Man,  however,  in  his  youthful 
days,  is  more  prone  to  be  led  by  sensuality  than  rea- 
son; yet,  when  he  arrives  at  the  age  of  forty,  or 
earlier,  he  should  remember  that  he  has  about  reached 
the  summit  of  the  hill,  and  must  now  think  of  going 
down,  carrying  the  weight  of  years  with  him;  and 
that  old  age  is  the  reverse  of  youth,  as  much  as  order 
is  the  reverse  of  disorder;  hence,  it  is  requisite  that 
he  should  alter  his  mode  of  life,  in  regard  to  the 
quality  and  quantity  of  his  food  and  drink.  For  it 
is  impossible  in  the  nature  of  things,  that  the  man 
who  is  bent  on  indulging  his  appetite,  should  be 
healthy  and  free  from  ailments.  Hence  it  was.  to 
avoid  this  vice  and  its  evil  effects,  I  embraced  a 
regular  and  sober  life.  It  is  no  doubt  true,  that  I 
at  first  found  some  difficulty  in  accomplishing  this, 
but  in  order  to  conquer  the  difficulty  I  besought  the 
Almighty  to  grant  the  virtue  of  sobriety  in  all  things, 
well  knowing  that  He  would  graciously  hear  my 
prayer.  Then,  considering  that  when  a  man  is  about 
to  undertake  a  thing  of  importance,  which  he  knows 


62  THE    SOBER    LIFE 

he  can  compass,  though  not  without  difficulty,  he  may 
make  it  much  easier  to  himself  by  being  steady  in 
his  purpose,  I  pursued  this  course:  I  endeavored 
gradually  to  relinquish  a  disorderly  life,  and  to  suit 
myself  to  strict  temperate  rules;  and  thus  it  came 
to  pass,  that  a  sober  and  moderate  life  no  longer 
became  disagreeable,  though,  on  account  of  the  weak- 
ness of  my  constitution,  I  tied  myself  down  to  very 
strict  rules  in  regard  to  the  quantity  and  quality 
of  what  I  ate  and  drank. 

Others,  who  happen  to  be  blessed  with  a  strong 
constitution,  may  eat  a  greater  variety  of  food,  and 
in  somewhat  larger  quantity,  each  man  being  a  guide 
to  himself,  consulting  always  his  judgment  and  rea- 
son, rather  than  his  fancy  or  appetite,  and  further 
let  him  always  strictly  abide  by  his  rules,  for  he 
will  receive  little  benefit  if  he  occasionally  indulges 
in  excess. 

Now,  on  hearing  these  arguments,  and  examining 
the  reasons  on  which  they  were  founded,  the  doctors 
and  philosophers  agreed  that  I  had  advanced  nothing 
but  what  was  true.  One  of  the  younger  of  them 
said  that  I  appeared  to  enjoy  the  special  grace  of 
being  able  to  relinquish,  with  ease,  one  kind  of  life, 
and  embrace  another,  a  thing  which  he  knew  from 
theory  to  be  feasible,  but  in  practice  to  be  difficult, 
for  it  had  proved  as  hard  to  him,  as  easy  to  me. 


HAPPINESS    IN    OLD    AGE  53 

To  this  I  replied,  that,  being  human  like  himself, 
I  likewise  had  found  it  no  easy  task,  but  it  did  not 
become  a  man  to  shrink  from  a  glorious  and  prac- 
tical task,  on  account  of  its  difficulties;  the  greater 
the  obstacles  to  overcome,  the  greater  the  honor 
and  benefit.  Our  beneficent  Creator  is  desirous,  that, 
as  He  originally  favored  human  nature  with  longev- 
ity, we  should  all  enjoy  the  full  advantage  of  His 
intentions,  knowing  that  when  a  man  has  passed  sev- 
enty, he  may  be  exempt  from  the  sensual  strivings, 
and  govern  himself  entirely  by  the  dictates  of  reason. 
Vice  and  immorality  then  leave  him,  and  God  is  will- 
ing that  he  should  live  to  the  full  maturity  of  his 
years,  and  has  ordained  that  all  who  reach  their  natu- 
ral term  should  end  their  days  without  sickness,  but 
by  mere  dissolution,  the  natural  way;  the  wheels  of 
life  quietly  stopping,  and  man  peacefully  leaving  this 
world,  to  enter  upon  immortality,  as  will  be  my  case ; 
for  I  am  sure  to  die  thus,  perhaps  while  chanting 
my  prayers.  Nor  do  the  thoughts  of  death  give  me 
the  least  concern;  nor  does  any  other  thought  con- 
nected with  death,  namely,  the  fear  of  the  punish- 
ment to  which  wicked  men  are  liable,  because  I  am 
bound  to  believe,  that  being  a  Christian,  I  shall  be 
saved  by  the  virtue  of  the  most  sacred  blood  of  Jesus 
Christ,  which  He  freely  shed  in  order  to  save  those 
who  trust  in  Him.     Thus,  how  beautiful  my  life! 


54  THE    SOBER    LIFE 

how  happy  my  end !  To  this,  the  young  doctor  had 
nothing  to  reply,  but  that  he  would  follow  my  ex- 
ample. 

The  great  desire  I  had,  my  Lord,  to  converse  with 
you  at  this  distance,  has  forced  me  to  be  prolix,  and 
still  obliges  me  to  proceed,  though  not  much  farther. 
There  are  some  sensualists,  my  Lord,  who  say  that  I 
have  thrown  away  my  time  and  trouble,  in  writing 
a  treatise  upon  temperance,  and  other  discourses  on 
the  same  subject;  alleging,  that  it  is  impossible  to 
conform  to  it,  so  that  my  treatise  must  answer  as 
little  purpose  as  that  of  Plato  on  Government,  who 
took  a  great  deal  of  pains  to  recommend  a  thing 
impracticable.  Now,  this  much  surprises  me,  as 
they  may  see  that  I  lived  a  sober  life  many  years 
before  I  wrote  my  treatise,  and  I  should  never  have 
composed  it,  had  I  not  been  convinced,  that  it  was 
such  a  life  as  any  man  might  lead;  and  being  a  vir- 
tuous life,  would  be  of  great  service  to  him ;  so  that  I 
felt  myself  under  an  obligation  to  present  it  in  its 
true  light.  Again,  I  have  the  satisfaction  to  hear 
that  numbers,  on  reading  my  treatise,  have  embraced 
such  a  life.  So  that  the  objection  concerning  Plato 
on  Government  is  of  no  force  against  my  case.  But 
a  sensualist  is  an  enemy  to  reason,  and  a  slave  to 
his  passions. 


The  Fourth  Discourse 

AN  EXHORTATION  TO  A  SOBER  AND 
REGULAR  LIFE,  IN  ORDER  TO  ATTAIN 
OLD  AGE 

Not  to  be  wanting  in  my  duty,  and  not  to  lose 
at  the  same  time  the  satisfaction  I  feel  in  being 
useful  to  others,  I  again  take  up  my  pen  to  inform 
those,  who,  for  want  of  conversing  with  me,  are 
strangers  to  what  those  with  whom  I  am  acquainted, 
know  and  see.  But  as  some  things  may  appear  to 
certain  persons  scarcely  credible,  though  actually 
true,  I  shall  not  fail  to  relate  for  the  benefit  of  the 
public.  Wherefore,  I  say,  being  arrived  at  my  ninety- 
fifth  year,  God  be  praised,  and  still  finding  myself 
sound  and  hearty,  content  and  cheerful,  I  never  cease 
to  thank  the  Divine  Majesty  for  so  great  a  blessing, 
considering  the  usual  condition  of  old  men.  These 
scarcely  ever  attain  the  age  of  seventy,  without  los- 
ing health  and  spirits,  and  growing  melancholy  and 
peevish.  Moreover,  when  I  remember  how  weak  and 
sickly  I  was  between  the  ages  of  thirty  and  forty, 
and  how  from  the  first,  I  never  had  what  is  called  a 
strong  constitution;  I  say,  when  I  remember  these 
things,  I  have  surely  abundant  cause  for  gratitude, 

55 


66  THE    SOBER    LIFE 

and  though  I  know  I  cannot  live  many  years  longer, 
the  thought  of  death  gives  me  no  uneasiness ;  I,  more- 
over, firmly  believe  that  I  shall  attain  to  the  age  of 
one  hundred  years.  But,  to  render  this  dissertation 
more  methodical,  I  shall  begin  by  considering  man 
at  his  birth ;  and  from  thence  accompany  him  through 
every  stage  of  life,  to  his  grave. 

I  therefore  say,  that  some  come  into  the  world 
with  the  stamina  of  life  so  weak,  that  they  live  but 
a  few  days,  or  months,  or  years,  and  it  is  not  always 
easy  to  show,  to  what  the  shortness  of  life  is  owing. 
Others  are  bom  sound  and  lively,  but  still,  with  a 
poor,  weakly  constitution;  and  of  these,  some  live 
to  the  age  of  ten,  twenty,  others  to  thirty  or  forty, 
but  seldom  live  to  be  old  men.  Others,  again,  bring 
into  the  world  a  perfect  constitution,  and  live  to  an 
old  age;  but  it  is  generally,  as  I  have  said,  an  old 
age  of  sickness  and  sorrow,  for  which  usually  they 
have  to  thank  themselves,  because  they  unreasonably 
presumed  on  the  goodness  of  their  constitution ;  and 
cannot,  by  any  means,  be  brought  to  alter  when 
grown  old,  from  the  mode  of  life  they  pursued  in 
their  younger  days,  but  live  as  irregularly  when  past 
the  meridian  of  life,  as  they  did  in  the  time  of  their 
youth.  They  do  not  consider,  that  the  stomach  has 
lost  much  of  its  natural  heat  and  vigor,  and  that, 
therefore,  they   should  pay  great  attention   to  the 


A  SOBER  AND  REGULAR  LIFE  57 

quality  and  quantity  of  what  they  eat  and  drink; 
but,  rather  than  decrease,  many  of  them  are  for 
increasing  the  quantity,  saying,  that,  as  health  and 
vigor  grow  less,  they  should  endeavor  to  repair  the 
loss  by  a  great  abundance  of  food,  since  it  is  by  sus- 
tenance we  are  to  preserve  ourselves. 

But  it  is  here  that  the  great  mistake  is  made ;  since, 
as  the  natural  force  and  heat  lessen  as  a  man  grows 
in  years,  he  should  diminish  the  quantity  of  his  food 
and  drink,  as  nature  at  that  period  is  content  with 
little;  and  moreover,  if  increasing  the  amount  of 
nourishment  was  the  proper  thing,  then,  surely  the 
majority  of  men  would  live  to  a  great  age  in  the 
best  of  health.  But  do  we  see  it  so?  On  the  con- 
trary, such  a  case  is  a  rare  exception;  whilst  my 
course  of  life  is  proved  to  be  right,  by  reason  of 
its  results.  But,  though  some  have  every  reason 
to  believe  this  to  be  the  case,  they  nevertheless,  be- 
cause of  their  want  of  strength  of  character,  and 
their  love  of  repletion,  still  continue  their  usual  man- 
ner of  living.  But  were  they,  in  due  time,  to  form 
strict  temperate  habits,  they  would  not  grow  infirm 
in  their  old  age,  but  would  continue  as  I  am,  strong 
and  hearty,  and  might  live  to  the  age  of  one  hun- 
dred, or  one  hundred  and  twenty.  This  has  been 
the  case  with  others  of  whom  we  read,  men  who  were 
born  with  a.  good  constitution,  and  lived  sober  and 


68  THE    SOBER    LIFE 

abstemious  lives;  and  had  it  been  my  lot  to  have 
enjoyed  a  strong  constitution,  I  should  make  no 
doubt  of  attaining  to  that  age.  But  as  I  was  bom 
feeble,  and  with  an  infirm  constitution,  I  am  afraid 
I  shall  not  outlive  an  hundred  years ;  and  were  others, 
bom  weakly  as  myself,  to  betake  them  to  a  life  like 
mine,  they  would,  like  me,  live  to  the  age  of  a  hun- 
dred, as  shall  be  my  case. 

And  this  certainty  of  being  able  to  live  to  a  great 
age  is,  in  my  opinion,  a  great  advantage  (of  course 
I  do  not  include  accidents,  to  which  all  are  liable, 
and  which  must  specially  be  left  to  our  Maker) ,  and 
highly  to  be  valued ;  none  being  sure  of  this  blessing, 
except  such  as  adhere  to  the  rules  of  temperance. 
This  security  of  life  is  built  on  good  and  truly  natu- 
ral reasons,  which  can  never  fail ;  it  being  impossible 
thai  he  who  leads  a  perfectly  sober  and  temperate 
life,  should  breed  any  sickness,  or  die  before  his 
time.  Sooner,  he  cannot  through  ill-health  die,  as 
his  sober  life  has  the  virtue  to  remove  the  cause  of 
sickness,  and  sickness  cannot  happen  without  a  cause ; 
which  cause  being  removed,  sickness  is  also  removed, 
and  untimely  and  painful  death  prevented. 

And  there  is  no  doubt,  that  temperance  in  food 
and  drink,  taking  only  as  much  as  nature  really 
requires,  and  thus  being  guided  by  reason,  instead  of 
appetite,  has  efficacy  to  remove  all  cause  of  disease; 


A  SOBER  AND  REGULAR  LIFE   59 

for  since  health  and  sickness,  life  and  death,  depend 
on  the  good  or  bad  condition  of  a  man's  blood,  and 
the  quality  of  his  humors,  such  a  life  as  I  speak  of 
purifies  the  blood,  and  corrects  all  vicious  humors, 
rendering  all  perfect  and  harmonious.  It  is  true, 
and  cannot  be  denied,  that  man  must  at  last  die, 
however  careful  with  himself  he  may  have  been ;  but 
yet,  I  maintain,  without  sickness  and  great  pain; 
for  in  my  case  I  expect  to  pass  away  quietly  and 
peacefully,  and  my  present  condition  insures  this 
to  me,  for,  though  at  this  great  age-,  I  am  hearty 
and  content,  eating  with  a  good  appetite,  and  sleep- 
ing soundly.  Moreover,  all  my  senses  are  as  good 
as  ever,  and  in  the  highest  perfection;  my  under- 
standing clear  and  bright,  my  judgment  sound,  my 
memory  tenacious,  my  spirits  good,  and  my  voice 
(one  of  the  first  things  which  is  apt  to  fail  us)  has 
grown  so  strong  and  sonorous,  that  I  cannot  help 
chanting  aloud  my  prayers,  morning  and  night,  in- 
stead of  whispering  and  muttering  them  to  myself 
as  was  formerly  my  custom. 

O,  how  glorious  is  this  life  of  mine,  replete  with 
all  the  felicities  which  man  can  enjoy  on  this  side 
of  the  grave!  It  is  entirely  exempt  from  that  sen- 
sual brutality,  which  age  has  enabled  my  reason  to 
banish;  thus  I  am  not  troubled  with  passions,  and 
my  mind  is  calm,  and  free  from  all  perturbations, 


60  THE    SOBER    LIFE 

and  doubtful  apprehensions.  Nor  can  the  thought 
of  death  find  room  in  my  mind,  at  least,  not  in  any 
way  to  disturb  me.  And  all  this  has  been  brought 
about,  by  God's  mercy,  through  my  careful  habit  of 
living.  How  different  from  the  life  of  most  old  men, 
full  of  aches  and  pains,  and  forebodings,  whilst  mine 
is  a  life  of  real  pleasure,  and  I  seem  to  spend  my 
days  in  a  perpetual  round  of  amusements,  as  I  shall 
presently  show. 

And  first,  I  am  of  service  to  my  country,  and  what 
a  joy  is  this.  I  find  infinite  delight  in  being  en- 
gaged in  various  improvements,  in  connection  with 
the  important  estuary  or  harbor  of  this  city,  and 
fortifications;  and  although  this  Venice,  this  Queen 
of  the  Sea,  is  very  beautiful,  yet  I  have  devised  means 
by  which  it  may  be  made  still  more  beautiful,  and 
more  wealthy,  for  I  have  shown  in  what  way  she  may 
abound  with  provisions,  by  improving  large  tracts  of 
land,  and  bringing  marshes  and  barren  sand  under 
cultivation.  Then  again,  I  have  another  great  joy 
always  present  before  me.  Some  time  since,  I  lost  a 
great  part  of  my  income,  by  which  my  grandchildren 
would  be  great  losers.  But  I,  by  mere  force  of 
thought,  have  found  a  true  and  infallible  method  of 
repairing  such  loss  more  than  double,  by  a  judicious 
use  of  that  most  commendable  of  arts,  agriculture. 
Another  great  comfort  to  me  is  to  think  that  my 


A  SOBER  AND  REGULAR  LIFE   61 

treatise  on  temperance  is  really  useful,  as  many  as- 
sure me  by  word  of  mouth,  and  others  by  letter, 
where  they  say,  that,  under  God  they  are  indebted 
to  me  for  their  life.  I  have  also  much  joy  in  being 
able  to  write,  and  am  thus  of  service  to  myself  and 
others ;  and  the  satisfaction  I  have  in  conversing  withi 
men  of  ability  and  superior  understanding  is  very 
great,  from  whom  I  learn  something  fresh.  Now, 
what  a  comfort  is  this,  that  old  as  I  am,  I  am  able, 
without  fatigue  of  mind  or  body  thus  to  be  fully 
engaged,  and  to  study  the  most  important,  difficult, 
and  sublime  subjects. 

I  must  further  add,  that  at  this  age,  I  appear  to 
fen  joy  two  lives:  one  terrestrial,  which  in  fact  I  pos- 
sess, the  other  celestial,  which  I  posses*  in  thought ; 
and  this  thought  is  actual  enjoyment,  when  founded 
upon  things  we  are  sure  to  attain,  and  I,  through 
the  infinite  mercy  and  goodness  of  God,  am  sure  of 
eternal  life.  Thus,  I  enjoy  the  terrestrial  life  in 
consequence  of  my  sobriety  and  temperance,  virtues 
so  agreeable  to  the  Deity,  and  I  enjoy,  by  the  grace 
of  God,  the  celestial,  which  He  makes  me  anticipate 
in  thought ;  a  thought  so  lively,  as  to  fix  me  entirely 
on  this  subject,  the  fruition  of  which  I  hold  to  be 
of  the  utmost  certainty.  And  I  further  maintain, 
that,  dying  in  the  manner  I  expect,  is  not  really 
(death,  but  a  passage  of  the  soul  from  this  earthly 


62  THE    SOBER    LIFE 

life  to  a  celestial,  immortal,  and  infinitely  perfect 
existence.  Neither  can  it  be  otherwise;  and  this 
thought  is  so  pleasing,  so  superlatively  sublime,  that 
it  can  no  longer  stoop  to  low  and  worldly  objects, 
such  as  the  death  of  this  body,  being  entirely  taken 
up  with  the  happiness  of  living  a  celestial  and  divine 
life.  Whence  it  is,  that  I  enjoy  two  lives;  and  the 
thought  of  terminating  this  earthly  life  gives  me  no 
concern,  for  I  know  that  I  have  a  glorious  and  im- 
mortal life  before  me. 

Now,  is  it  possible,  that  any  one  should  grow  tired 
of  so  great  a  comfort  and  blessing  as  this  which  I 
enjoy,  and  which  the  majority  of  persons  might 
attain,  by  leading  the  life  I  have  led,  an  example 
which  every  one  has  it  in  his  power  to  follow?  for  I 
am  no  saint,  but  a  mere  man,  a  servant  of  God,  to 
whom  so  regular  a  life  is  extremely  agreeable. 

Now,  there  are  men  who  embrace  a  spiritual  and 
contemplative  life,  and  this  is  holy  and  commendable, 
their  chief  employment  being  to  celebrate  the  praises 
of  God,  and  to  teach  men  how  to  serve  Him.  Now, 
if  while  these  men  set  themselves  apart  for  this  life, 
they  would  also  betake  themselves  to  sober  and  tem- 
perate living,  how  much  more  agreeable  would  they 
render  themselves  in  the  sight  of  God  and  men.  What 
a  much  greater  honor  and  ornament  would  they  be 
to  the  world.     They  would  likewise  enjoy  constant 


A    SOBER    AND   RE;G.t;io^Jt    LIFfi  i    i  63 

health  and  happiness,  would  attain  a  great  age,  and 
thus  become  eminently  wise  and  useful ;  whereas,  now, 
they  are  mostly  infirm,  irritable,  and  dissatisfied,  and 
think  that  their  various  trials  and  ailments  are  sent 
them  by  Almighty  God,  with  a  view  of  promoting 
their  salvation ;  that  they  may  do  penance  in  this  life 
for  their  past  errors.  Now,  I  cannot  help  saying, 
that  in  my  opinion,  they  are  greatly  mistaken;  for 
I  cannot  believe  that  the  Deity  desires  that  man,  his 
favorite  creature,  should  be  infirm  and  melancholy, 
but  rather,  that  he  should  enjoy  good  health  and  be 
happy.  Man,  however,  brings  sickness  and  disease 
upon  himself,  by  reason,  either  of  his  ignorance  or 
wilful  self-indulgence.  Now,  if  those  who  profess 
to  be  our  teachers  in  divine  matters  would  also  set 
the  example,  and  thus  teach  men  how  to  preserve 
their  bodies  in  health,  they  would  do  much  to  make 
the  road  to  heaven  easier:  men  need  to  be  taught 
that  self-denial  and  strict  temperance  is  the  path 
to  health  of  body  and  health  of  mind,  and  those  who 
thus  live  see  more  clearly  than  others  what  their  duty 
is  toward  our  Saviour  Jesus  Christ,  who  came  down 
upon  earth  to  shed  His  precious  blood,  in  order  to 
deliver  us  from  the  tyranny  of  the  devil,  such  was 
His  immense  goodness  and  lovingkindness  to  man. 

Now,  to  make  an  end  of  this  discourse,  I  say,  that 
since  length  of  days  abounds  with  so  many  favors 


64  TJiE    SOBER    LIFE 

and  blessings,  and  I,  not  by  theory,  but  by  blessed 
experience  can  testify  to  it — indeed,  I  solemnly  assure 
all  mankind  that  I  really  enjoy  a  great  deal  more 
than  I  can  mention,  and  that  I  have  no  other  reason 
for  writing,  but  that  of  demonstrating  the  great 
advantages,  which  arise  from  longevity,  and  such  a 
life  as  I  have  lived — I  desire  to  convince  men,  that 
they  may  be  induced  to  observe  these  excellent  rules 
of  constant  temperance  in  eating  and  drinking,  and 
therefore,  I  never  cease  to  raise  my  voice,  crying  out 
to  you,  my  friends,  that  your  lives  may  be  even  as 
mine. 


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LOA^^OD 


5  ^mmm 


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0€C  ii  1^69 


REC'DPUBi,  'AM  -3'^ 


JUN  3  0Tj91 


REC.  PUBL.  0EC13'9C 


SENT  ON  ILL 


■m  - 1  ^992 


NOV  1  3  ?nnfi 


U.C.  BERKELEY 


MQig. 


JUN  3  0 1993 


^EgMStfflM^ 


JAN  07  1994 


3UDJECTT0RECAU. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA,  BERKELEY 


FORM  NO.  DD26-7,  9m.  1  1  /78      BERKELEY,  CA  94720 


®s 


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^ 


